ENCODED ANTENNA ARRAY AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A system for identifying which equipment slots of an equipment enclosure have equipment components located in them when specific equipment components containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags thereon are inserted into specific ones of the equipment slots, the system comprising:
- an antenna system adapted to be secured to said equipment enclosure to span the equipment slots, the antenna system including;
a plurality of elongated antenna elements arranged adjacent to one another and in relation to the equipment slots of the equipment enclosure;
the antenna elements configured to wirelessly sense the presence of an RFID tag at any one of the equipment slots and to generate a plurality of different codes, with each said code being uniquely associated with at least a given one of the equipment slots, and being indicative of the sensed presence of an RFID tag at its associated said equipment slot; and
a decoder system in communication with the antenna system for decoding the unique codes generated by the antenna system and determining which specific ones of the equipment slots that an RFID tag was sensed at.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for identifying which equipment slots of an equipment enclosure have equipment components located in them when specific equipment components containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags thereon are inserted into specific ones of the equipment slots. The system may use a plurality of antenna elements that wirelessly sense the presence of an RFID tag at any of the equipment slots, and which generate outputs that may be interpreted as forming a plurality of codes. Each code is uniquely associated with a specific one of the equipment slots. A decoder system may read the output signals from the antenna elements to thus obtain the code and determine which specific ones of the equipment slots that an RFID tag was sensed at.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for identifying which equipment slots of an equipment enclosure have equipment components located in them when specific equipment components containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags thereon are inserted into specific ones of the equipment slots, the system comprising:
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an antenna system adapted to be secured to said equipment enclosure to span the equipment slots, the antenna system including; a plurality of elongated antenna elements arranged adjacent to one another and in relation to the equipment slots of the equipment enclosure; the antenna elements configured to wirelessly sense the presence of an RFID tag at any one of the equipment slots and to generate a plurality of different codes, with each said code being uniquely associated with at least a given one of the equipment slots, and being indicative of the sensed presence of an RFID tag at its associated said equipment slot; and a decoder system in communication with the antenna system for decoding the unique codes generated by the antenna system and determining which specific ones of the equipment slots that an RFID tag was sensed at. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for identifying which equipment slots of an equipment enclosure have equipment components located in them when specific equipment components containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags thereon are inserted into specific ones of the equipment slots, the system comprising:
an antenna system adapted to be secured to said equipment enclosure to span the equipment slots, the antenna system including; a plurality of elongated antenna elements arranged adjacent to one another and in relation to the equipment slots of the equipment enclosure; each of said elongated antenna elements having at least one first portion along a length thereof which is able to receive signals generated by a RFID tag, and at least one second portion along a length thereon which is not able to receive signals from a RFID tag; the antenna elements configured to wirelessly sense the presence of an RFID tag at any one of the equipment slots and, using the first and second portions of the antenna elements, to generate a plurality of different binary codes, each said binary code representing a unique binary code, and each said binary code being uniquely associated with at least a given one of the equipment slots and being indicative of the sensed presence of an RFID tag at said associated equipment slot; and a decoder system in communication with the antenna system for reading the binary codes generated by the antenna system and determining which specific ones of the equipment slots that an RFID tag was sensed at. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for identifying which equipment slots of an equipment enclosure have equipment components located in them when specific equipment components containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags thereon are inserted into specific ones of the equipment slots, the method comprising:
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securing an multi element antenna system to said equipment enclosure in a manner such that the antenna system spans all the equipment slots; selectively insulating one or more portions along a length of each said element of said multi element antenna system such that a wirelessly sensed RFID tag at any one of the equipment slots causes a unique output to be generated by the elements of the multi element antenna system, to thus form a plurality of codes, with each said code being uniquely associated with a different one of said equipment slots; reading output signals from each of the antenna elements to construct the codes; and using a decoder system to interpret the codes, to thus determine which one or more of said equipment slots has an equipment component installed therein. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification